CHAPTER 111 

 LIVING RESOURCES 



Increasing demands on living marine resources, caused in part by 

 expanding human populations around the world, lend urgency to 

 management and conservation practices supported by the Federal 

 Ocean Program. Fishing fleets operate in all oceans of the world in 

 their search for harvestable populations of living resources, 

 primarily fish and shellfish. The fishing power of the larger fleets is 

 sufficient now to virtually wipe out some commercial fish 

 populations within a few years. Some traditional and once abundant 

 fish stocks in American waters have been so overfished that they can 

 no longer reproduce themselves. 



Unusually heavy demands on fishery resources have intensified 

 the pressure on U.S. fisheries and created a multitude of new sources 

 of conflict. These problems are compounded by the mobility of the 

 fishing fleets, global pollution of ocean waters, conservation 

 problems related to marine mammals and endangered species, and 

 the demands of fishery conservation groups. It is anticipated that 

 recent international fisheries agreements. Federal and State 

 legislation, and the current negotiations on the law of the sea will 

 help to resolve these problems. 



The Federal Government works in close cooperation with States, 

 foreign governments, and with various commissions and agencies to 

 develop plans for living marine resources. The key Federal 

 responsibilities are to assess, manage, and conserve living 

 resources. This includes the development of new fishery resources 

 and their wise allocation and use. 



The Atlantic menhaden fishery has been over-fished and is now beyond the 

 point of maximum sustainable yield. These fish are in great demand for 

 processing into poultry feed. 



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